The present invention relates generally to hangers for fabric, and more particularly to such a hanger commonly used by fabric retailers for storing piece length fabrics in pendant, vertical roll form.
In applicant's prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,720,324 and 3,844,499 a hanger for supporting piece length fabrics in such pendant, vertical rolls is disclosed. The hanger shown and described in said prior patents was primarily concerned with the safety hazards of the prior art which included upwardly pointing pin members for securing fabric thereon and for providing a means to dispense with the need of reeling and unreeling the fabric onto and off an intermediate reel typically used for transportation. Accordingly, the hanger disclosed in applicant's prior issued patents included a longitudinally extending main member having two securing units connected at opposite longitudinal ends of the main member and each including at least one horizontal arm spaced beneath and extending transversely of the main member carried by a support extending downwardly from the adjacent end of the main member. Two upright, transversely spaced, pointed pins were secured to the arms and adapted to pierce and pass through the fabric to hold it on the arm. Additionally, a brace was required to be connected with the arm which would extend upwardly to the main member. A movable safety bar was provided so as to extend between the pins and rest on the pointed ends thereof during handling and shipment of the hanger. The safety bar had an opening for receiving the support to permit the safety bar to slide upwardly so as to expose the points when necessary for hanging the fabric on the pins and also had means for preventing rotation and vertical movement of the safety bar relative to the support so as to prevent inadvertent exposure of the pins.
Further, this prior device included a support for the hanger assembly consisting of a vertical shaft secured in a rectangularly shaped base with the main member of the hanger supported at the end of the vertical shaft opposite the base.
While the vertical shaft used in the prior device performed the function of preventing the pendant roll from collapsing within a shipping carton, it has been found inadequate to provide sufficient structural support for the roll and for the carton or container within which the hanger and roll are carried during transport so that handling and shipment of the rolled fabric when hung on the hanger was difficult.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide a fabric hanger for carrying piece length fabric in a pendant roll which is an improvement over the prior fabric hanger and which overcomes the disadvantages thereof.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a support assembly in such a hanger for carrying fabric which has a main body portion intended to prevent inward collapse of the rolled fabric so as to facilitate handling thereof for shipment and display.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a support assembly in a fabric hanger having a generally more rigid construction while being of a more simplified structure.
A further disadvantage of the prior device concerns the hanger assembly which is arranged to be carried on the support assembly. The structure of the hanger assembly in the prior device, including the provision of the sliding safety bar, was found to be excessively complicated resulting in difficult and expensive manufacturing techniques. The use of such a movable safety bar, while providing certain advantages, was found to be difficult to use and created certain problems when hanging fabric. Because of the movable safety bar, the main member required additional structural support. Further, the securing units at each end of the main member were formed of separate hook elements requiring alignment and assembly with the main member.
Accordingly, a further object of the present invention is to provide a fabric hanger in which the hanger assembly is of simplified construction avoiding the use of any moving parts so as to facilitate its manufacture and use.